My Review: I'd like to confess one thing. I picked up this book after seeing the gorgeous cover and reading the quick book jacket insert about a gifted girl with a heavenly voice. I have a gifted daughter with a heavenly voice so my interest was peaked. Combine that with a walk through English history during the time of King Richard's rule, Lords and ladies and castles and countryside manors, dashing knights and fair maidens, and I'm already smitten!
To have read it, I'm now aware that Melanie Dickerson was on point with her storyline, character development in this exquisite time piece. 4 well deserved stars right out of the gate, and the number stayed right there as Silent Songbird did not disappoint.
"Jesus, is that what you would wish me to do?
Comply and submit and allow myself to be married off to someone
who makes my stomach churn and skin crawl?" ~ book excerpt
Just as the title suggests, Evangeline is to be married off as a pawn in the time when young ladies of the court often did not have a say in whom they married or what happened to them, as they were pawns to be played in the games of greater gains. Her harmonous voice is, at the onset, silence by her own doing in order to gain her freedom and escape an arranged married to a horrible twice her age older man. Masquerading as deaf and as a servant, Evangeline travels in seclusion to hopefully freedom.
She encounters many trials and tribulations along her journey to Glynval, home of Wesley Wyse, a kind and gentle soul understanding the world's need for peace in a time of rebellion. Because "Eva" is pretending to be mute to save herself from an arranged marriage, they commute through writing and one sided conversations. That is until Eva needs to save Wesley and gives up her secret.
Eva's strong faith and constant talks with God are resonant through out The Silent Songbird. She is a royal but her heart is one of the people's people, respectful of the lives that everyone is living, fortunate and less fortunate. She mentions how the "Lord is close to those broken hearted and saves those crushed in spirit" and she maintains a steady grace and voice that gifts us readers from start to finish.
4/5 stars
Desperate to flee a political marriage to her cousin King Richard II’s closest advisor, Lord Shiveley—a man twice her age with shadowy motives—Evangeline runs away and joins a small band of servants journeying back to Glynval, their home village.
Pretending to be mute, she gets to know Westley le Wyse, their handsome young leader, who is intrigued by the beautiful servant girl. But when the truth comes out, it may shatter any hope that love could grow between them.
More than Evangeline’s future is at stake as she finds herself entangled in a web of intrigue that threatens England’s monarchy. Should she give herself up to protect the only person who cares about her? If she does, who will save the king from a plot to steal his throne?
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher as part of the BookLook Blogger Review Program, in exchange for an honest review on my blog. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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